Credit Cards with the Best Intro Bonuses

With the economy improving, credit card issuers are trying harder than ever to attract new cardholders with good credit, offering extremely generous introductory bonuses to help sway you to their card. Still, with all the credit cards out there, how do you know which ones have the best bonuses? Luckily, we did the research for you. We looked at all the top rewards credit cards and found the cards with the best introductory bonuses, ranging from $400 to spend on anything you want all the way up to the equivalent of $575 in hotel stays. Check them out to find which card bonuses sound best to you.

This card is kind of insane when it comes to bonus features. First, you get 40,000 points when you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months, which is $400 that the card is pretty much just giving you, and redemption is simple as you can just use the $400 to pay for any travel purchase on your credit card statement. On top of that, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard gives 2x the points on every purchase, which is higher than most other travel cards. And beyond that, you get another 10% bonus on any points you use for travel, so if you spend 10,000 points on travel, you get 1,000 points back. The only downside is the $89 annual fee, but even that is waived for the first year. This card took the top prize as best travel rewards credit card in our travel rewards card analysis, so chances are you’ll want to make this the most-used card in your wallet, even after you redeem the $400 intro bonus.

This is another great all-around card, with a unique option of letting you transfer your points to other popular rewards programs. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers 50,000 bonus points. You must spend $4,000 within the first 3 months to get the bonus. What makes this card particularly interesting is that it lets you transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to many popular reward programs, including frequent flyer programs like United and Southwest, as well as hotel loyalty programs like Hyatt and Marriott, so you can instantly turn this intro bonus into flights and hotel rooms. In fact, according to our travel rewards card analysis, if you transferred those points to Hyatt Gold Passport, they’d be worth $850 in hotel stays. You can also easily redeem the points for other travel, or simply take a $500 statement credit. There is a $95 annual fee but it’s waved the first year.

Barclay Arrival World Mastercard No Annual Fee offers 20,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months, equivalent to $200 to spend on any kind of travel. This is the sister card to the Barclay Arrival card mentioned above with the $400 bonus. The bonus is “only” $200 here and your ongoing rewards aren’t quite as high but there is no annual fee. You’ll earn 2 miles per dollar spent on travel and dining, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. Just book your travel using your card and then redeem your miles for a statement credit. If you use your miles to pay for travel, you’ll get 10% of your miles back. As if that weren’t enough, there is also a 12-month 0% introductory APR on purchases and no foreign transaction fees.

Best No-Fee Intro Bonus Card: Chase FreedomThe Chase Freedom card offers $200 cash back after spending $500 in first 3 months, which is the best cash back intro bonus we’ve seen with a no annual fee credit card. The card also offers a 15-month 0% introductory APR for purchases and balance transfers. The Chase Freedom card gives you 5% cash back within certain categories on a quarterly basis (starting January 1, it will be 5% back on gas stations, movie theaters and Starbucks stores), and 1% cash back on every other purchase, which is great because it also doesn’t have a limit on cash back rewards. If you think you might need to carry a balance on your credit card but still want stellar cash back rewards, this is the card for you.

Branded hotel credit cards are often more tricky when it comes to points, since most have different tiers of hotels and the number of points it costs to stay varies from tier to tier. So 20,000 points may get you a night at a Tier 2 hotel but not a Tier 6 hotel. Regardless, hotel credit cards are usually pretty generous with their points.

The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (a NextAdvisor advertiser) has a great introductory offer. You get a 10,000-points bonus with first purchase and another 15,000-points bonus after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months, which is equal to about $575, according to our calculations from our travel rewards credit card analysis. You also get 4-5 points for each $1 you spend on Starwood Preferred Guest hotels and resorts. This card does have an annual fee of $65, but it is waived during the first year.

The Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase also offers a great intro deal. You get 50,000 bonus points (or $450) after spending $1,000 in first 3 months, plus 1 free night stay after account approval. You also get 5 points for every $1 you spend at Marriott hotels. The annual fee is also waived for the first year, although it is $85 every year after that.

Branded airline cards are usually pretty generous when it comes to handing out introductory bonus points, mostly to get customers to commit to flying with their airline. But that’s good news for us.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier cardholders can earn 2 roundtrip flights after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. As a bonus, there are no foreign transaction fees if you use the card out of country. The card also rewards its users with points that can be used on Southwest flights, international flights, hotel stays, rental cars and a variety of other options. In our 2013 Travel Rewards Credit Card Analysis, these points had a strong flight redemption value of $1.72 per $100 spent.

United MileagePlus Explorer Card is a great airline card – you’ll get 30,000 miles when you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months, which equates to about $510, according to our travel rewards credit card analysis. You also get 2 miles for every dollar you spend on United flights, can enjoy priority boarding, and your first checked bag is free. Plus there are no foreign transaction fees so if you travel internationally you can save a ton of money. There is a $95 annual fee, but the first year fee is waived.

Citi® / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is a great choice for those who would like to earn free flights on American Airlines. You can earn 30,000 bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, as well as getting your first checked bag for free and priority boarding on American Airlines flights. Our 2015 Travel Rewards Credit Card Analysis indicated a flight redemption value of $1.04 per $100 spent. The hotel redemption value of $0.80 wasn’t a good, but if you use this card primarily for flight rewards it’s good pick.

If you are a Delta flyer instead, you can try the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. They offer 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months, which equates to about $180, according to our travel rewards credit card analysis. You also get 2 points for every $1 you spend on Delta flights, priority boarding, your first checked bag is free and you’ll save 20% on in-flight meals, drinks and movies. The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.

Gift card: If you want a gift card instead of getting cash back on your purchases, the Citi ThankYou Preferred card offers you 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,500 in the first three months. It also offers a 7-month 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, as well as the opportunity to accrue reward points for purchases. Cardholders will earn 2 points for every dollar spent on dining and entertainment like movie tickets, amusement parks and live performances. All other purchases will earn 1 point per dollar spent.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

Credit card companies are a joke. I’ve got a great job, completely paid off all my college loans and car and I’ve got a good chunk of cash saved up in my bank.. Yet I get denied from every credit card I apply for! The reason appears to be the same for every refusal: not enough credit history. Well, how the HELL am I supposed to build up credit history if they won’t give me a chance!? Insulting..

AB345March 28, 2014

I’m glad to see people still don’t understand how to take advantage of these offers. Hopefully that means they will continue. Each year my family uses about $10,000 of travel for a cost of around $2,000.

use your dividend cards wisely ..debt is dumb…I make around 1500$ a year from my 5 dividend cards…..NEVER EVER EVER REVOLVE or pay any interest…then you will do well grasshopper…

NoviceFebruary 25, 2014

I bought Life Lock to protect my credit card from fraud.

TOM YUANJanuary 29, 2014

The info here is NOT the best.
Just “Google it” to find easily: 50K AA bonus miles for Citi® Platinum Select / AAdvantage World Mastercard ($3k spending/3 months).
The Barclay Arrival World Mastercard sign-on bonus 40K points, value at $400 is NOT the best in value. Simply look at the fact:
One-way Business class US to Europe, 50K AA or UA points, it costs $3500-$4000 in purchase
[Every 10K AA or UA points worth $700-800 of a reward flight US to Europe Biz class];
Barclay 40K points, $400 in cash value, each plus 10% bonus = $440 [10K points, $110 cash value].
Needless to say, Barclay arrival points cash value is much less than AA or UA points.
P.S. Booking after Feb 1, 2014, UA flight Biz class from US to Europe will cost 57.5K points.
BUT the airline points for reward flights are still much much better than Barclay’s cash value.

The joy is shared is a joy made double – English proverb

TOM YUANJanuary 29, 2014

The info here is NOT the best.
Just “Google it” to find easily: 50K AA bonus miles for Citi® Platinum Select / AAdvantage World Mastercard ($3k spending/3 months).
The Barclay Arrival World Mastercard sign-on bonus 40K points, value at $400 is NOT the best in value. Simply look at the fact:
One-way Business class US to Europe, 50K AA or UA points, it costs $3500-$4000 in purchase
[Every 10K AA or UA points worth $700-800 of a reward flight US to Europe Biz class];
Barclay 40K points, $400 in cash value, each plus 10% bonus = $440 [10K points, $110 cash value].
Needless to say, Barclay arrival points cash value is much less than AA or UA points.
P.S. Booking after Feb 1, 2014, UA flight Biz class from US to Europe will cost 57.5K points.
BUT the airline points for reward flights are still much much better than Barclay’s cash value.

The joy is shared is a joy made double – English proverb

derJanuary 29, 2014

Only cash back for me.

TestJanuary 10, 2014

How about instead of accepting a bunch of cash upfront in exchange for 3% transaction fees on all your purchases for eternity, you just use Bitcoins instead :D

CMJanuary 9, 2014

I am a victim of identity theft… I loved my Price line Visa… However , Barclay has not stood behind the 0% fraud liability… There has been an ongoing Investigation since May 2013. Their Fraud Investigation team requested a police report I faxed the documents they requested several times, I was advised no worries once they received the documents they would freeze the account . I continue to get a monthly bill with outrageous fees & harassing calls from collections as if my pain and suffering has not affected my mental clarity due to being a victim of identity theft Barclay continues to send the credit agencies reporting my account has not been paid . I am a single mom, who was very proud that I had earned a credit rating in the high 8s thanks to Barclay my rate dropped significantly down to low 5s. I feel once my innocences is proven, Sorry will not fill the mental anguish I am suffering to this day.

cassieJanuary 5, 2014

How do get back over 100k miles that United LOST when Continental was merged with them?

ndabunkaJanuary 3, 2014

Amazing that this article is only 6 months old but it’s already pretty dated. Who cares about all these “travel” cards. How about all the new ones offering cold hard CASH?

JolgarDecember 30, 2013

Get ready credit cards – you will be paying off our purchases yourselves. Obama care is kicking in, big time premiums and dedactables, we will not have a disposable income to cover our credit cards.

CropCircleArtistDecember 27, 2013

Consumption! It’s the new national pastime. To heck with baseball, it’s consumption. The only true lasting American value that’s left – buying things! People spending money they don’t have on things they don’t need – MONEY THEY DON’T HAVE ON THINGS THEY DON’T NEED – so they can max out their credit cards and spend the rest of their lives paying 18% interest on something that cost $12.50! And they didn’t like it when they got it home anyway!

feltersnatchDecember 26, 2013

These are all nickel and dime bullsh*t offers. I lost all my 5500 miles of flight on my Citi miles(bank) card. They are all bullsh*t artists trying to scam all the money they can out of us consumers.
I wouldn’t touch and of these offers with a 39 1/2 foot pole.

RogerDecember 23, 2013

I remember the first reward card I got many years ago. I would pay it off ever month. I got a letter from the CEO, it started out (Dear freeloader) I still laugh when I think about it. I should have kept the letter.

JuanDecember 1, 2013

A lot of “not too bright” people on this site! They don’t get the “pay it off in full every month” part.
If you do that, you do get something for nothing, especially if you love to travel. I have been to 32 countries on 5 continents using the miles that credit cards give you. No chance in hell that I could have paid cash for that.
I never pay interest on any card because I pay it off every month. There constantly are nice bonuses for signing up for new cards if you have good credit.
And why shouldn’t the site blogger get a fee from the bank when he refers the best rewards card? It’s no cash out of my pocket, and I might not have known about it otherwise.

KbNovember 30, 2013

You completely left out one of the Chase Sapphire preferred’s best features: 7% of your total annual purchase comes bak to you in points at the end of every year!

cappidadOctober 21, 2013

If you enjoy playing the credit card game, then have at it. I’ve had a CapitalOne Visa card for years and have a major points balance due to charging so much monthly stuff to it. I won’t bother trying to find the best deal-in-the-universe because we’ve always been treated well by CapOne phone reps and the company has gone to bat for us several times in disputes. My suggestion: Get a decent no-fee card, pay it off each month, check the on-line statement regularly in order to promptly spot bogus charges by bad guys, and remember that Visa will extend a product warranty for up to an additional year on products bought using a Visa card. Good luck….

JackOctober 16, 2013

Scipio…you’re an idiot.

ScipioOctober 3, 2013

Get wise people ! As my old sergeant used to repeat almost continuously “nuttin’ fer nuttin in dis woild”
Inevitably you will wind up relying on the card when you don’t have money – THEN you will be working five days for four days pay !!!!!

ChrisOctober 1, 2013

How about a card that doesn’t have an ANNUAL FEE? Chase gave me [if I remember correctly] $200 back and I didn’t have to pay $95 a year for the “Honor” of using their card.

AardmanSeptember 23, 2013

The Delta Skymiles Gold card also gets you a $99 companion ticket on your annual renewal. Upgrading to the Delta Skymiles Platinum raises your annual fee from $90 to $150 but makes the companion ticket free. For some people, the arithmetic makes the platinum card worth the higher fee.

miles millerSeptember 20, 2013

fu*k all you bi*ches

StephSeptember 19, 2013

My Chase Freedom card (if you want a low limit to be safe) has no annual fee, pretty decent interest rates, and gives you cash back. Yes, it’s actually cash back, you can choose to have chase send you a check in the mail, or automatically deposited into a chase checking account. Every 3 months you get a different category for 5% cash back, but everything is 1% cash back either way.
No annual fees, and in the 2 years I’ve had it, I’ve been able to get at least $700 from Chase, without a lot of spending.

DerekSeptember 10, 2013

What everyone is ignoring is that these links all seem to contain affiliate referral codes that give NextAdvisor money every time someone signs up by clicking one of the links.

If not, what’s up with the URL in the link being extra super long when you click through, vs. what link the search results provide when you Google the card itself?

I smell conflict of interests. Do your own research independently, don’t go through a blog that stands to make money by comparing only companies that are paying THEM by selling YOU.

JadedSeptember 10, 2013

Last winter my old roommate who has impeccable credit applied for and received 5 of the Southwest Visa cards (sorry I don’t know which bank they’re drawn on). In return for getting the cards they sent her $400 in Amazon Gift Cards for each one, he husband also got a few of the cards and another $1200 in Amazon Gift Cards.
I know they’re gift cards they’re not the same as cash, but the amount of things you can purchase on Amazon from vacations, to groceries, to gift cards from other places like Marriott and Delta etc. makes it about as close to cash as you can get. Honestly I think the biggest pain in the butt for them was that they sent you the actual cards and the cards only come in $100 denominations, and the promotion being so popular they ran out of the $100 ones and they ended up with $1200 in $20 gift cards which they had to input the numbers into the account individually.
Since they both use they’re cards properly they used them, paid them most of the card off at the end of the month. Throughout the year she starts transferring all the balances to one card, slowly gets rid of the other cards, and then as the next season of credit card offers comes out she finds the one that has the best transfer your balance incentives, does that and starts the whole thing all over again. In the last 10 years she’s managed to make close to $11,000 in gifts, points, cash and prizes, and has only paid out $300 in credit card fees and interest.
If you have goo credit you can literally screw the banks right back. The problem is most people who are using credit are using it because they don’t have the cash.

captainhurtSeptember 8, 2013

To be clear, no card on this list gives $400 as repeated multiple times in the piece.
One card, gives you conditional 40,000 points, which can only be interpreted as 400 for specific travel (within the few months before the annual fee kicks in , and only for travel).
you dont get the points before 4 months after getting the card AND after 12 months you get penalized $100 (real money, not “points”).
Simply put, there’s nothing like CASH. With barclays, you do NOT get CASH, you get very conditional points that only work by spending big real money on expensive travel within a given timeframe. If you dont spend big money on travel, the points go away after a few years via fees.

BrandonSeptember 7, 2013

Any card with an annual fee is a trap. They already make plenty of money off of you through the exorbitant interest rates, so why would you pay nearly $100 a year for the privilege of paying interest? You think you’re going to come out ahead because of the $400 bonus at the beginning (which itself has limitations, requires spending money to get, and comes in the form of the ability to charge certain things to the card instead of actual money)? Nope, you’re not. They play this game for a living, and they know they can beat you at it. You will lose money in the end. If you need a credit card, join your local credit union and apply for the best rate card they offer. That’s really the best you’re going to find.

JohnSeptember 3, 2013

P.S. on the bank of america cash rewards card, it only took me about a year to rack up $400 in reward cash, =$500 back with the bonus. I can pay bills with my card so it makes it easy to rack up points. I believe there is a quarterly limit though, not 100% sure, it takes alot of fine-print reading and magnification..

JohnSeptember 3, 2013

I would include the bank of America cash rewards card. The rates might be high but if you are responsible and pay it off every month, never get hit by them. Anyway, if you save your rewards to $400 bank of America gives you an extra $100 free… I have to look up the details but I think it’s 25% extra on cash redemptions over $300 or something, it doesn’t rack up all that fast, but there is no annual fee, no subscription, no gimmicks, just use it, get a % back and redeem the money either by check or to your bank account. Very simple, also offers cash back deal bonuses like 10% on Starbucks purchases or AutoZone, etc.. not permanent but they come every month in different forms.

JonSeptember 2, 2013

WOW I had the same experience! US AIR deleted all my miles too after 2-3 years accumulating them and looking forward to a free trip. I try to avoid the company but they have a monopoly in so many markets.

John GAugust 26, 2013

Mark Your thinking is both old fashioned and conservative. And you are missing the huge benefits of proper CC use. Proper use you ask? Buy what you normally buy and pay the cards off each month. My benefits? In the last 18 months: Round the world in Business class $25,000 value, First class to Asia $16,000, Business class to Asia $6,000 all on my preferred airlines + another $3,000 on free hotel stays. My costs including taxes and yearly CC fees around $500. Even better…. I have enough points/miles to do it all again. Its not that hard…….Flyertalk all the way.

Jeff HindenachAugust 26, 2013

Yes, if you misuse your credit card, it can put you into debt. But, if you use the credit card to pay utility bills, your mortgage or taxes — things that you need to pay anyway — then you have $400 extra that you didn’t have before. You just have to make sure you have the money to pay off the card each month, and the rewards it offers will actually be saving you money.

MarkAugust 26, 2013

The biggest cash reward from any card is to not use it, and save your money. For example, if you spent $1000 on a new purse, and got the 40,000 points (aka $400) on the Barclay’s card aren’t you still out $600? If you didn’t spend that money in the first place, you have a cash back reward of $1000!! But that’s old fashioned thinking, responsibility is sooo dull and boring. Being is debt is the new hotness.

bill marsanoAugust 21, 2013

The Delta AMEX card does give you ‘first checked bag free’ but that means nothing on international flights, where the first bag is free anyway. Any bag after that is charged for.

Dee August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

In August 2013 the Barclay Mastercard representative did not offer to waive the $89.00 fee for the first year. I was required to pay the $89.00 fee if I wanted to receive 30,000 US Airways Dividend miles. I had already traveled round trip from coast to coast for several years prior to this year; however, all of the miles I earned mysteriously vanished from my US Airways Account. I contacted US Airways representatives on several occasions in the past. After five years of repeated conversations they located my original account and promised to restore the thousands of miles I had earned. The points were never restored. During my last conversation with a US Airways representative in August 2013 I was informed there was no record of my account history. After years of being a loyal US Airways customer, paying annual credit card fees and making numerous purchases on the credit card as a customer in good standing I did NOT have one point available on my US Airways Account. However, I was given an option; I could pay US Airways an additional $150.00 fee to restore some of the points I had already earned via annual fees and purchases. I would only have to pay for the same points twice! Some of these so called good deals are not really good for the consumer. Check all the details on credit cards offering AIR LINE BONUS POINTS; double check any US AIRWAYS POINTS OFFER.

JonAugust 19, 2013

The Barclay mastercard is worth $400 when redeemed for a statement credit for travel expenses. If you never travel, might not be useful otherwise it’s worth $400.

captainhurtAugust 16, 2013

Great Scott! this irresponsible article and journalist is publishing fiction, harming readers?
alert to the readers…read what Scott identified below, showing the journalist and the site is NOT trustable to what he publishes:

“Scott July 30, 2013
The 40,000 mile (not points) bonus on the Barclay Arrival World Mastercard is worth $200 in cash credit or gift cards – not $400 as claimed.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred 40,000 point bonus IS worth $400.”

robAugust 7, 2013

Always shop around for credit card deals. Forums like flyertalk sometimes post unpublished links that get you more bonus miles when you sign up, i.e. they have a link to 50,000 miles on the AA/Citi card. Also Amex is not publishing this, but my partner has a 780 credit score and they sent him an offer in the mail for 50,000 membership rewards points and 1st year annual fee waived 2x points on groceries gas and dining, 3x points on airfare booked through the airlines. Awesome deal if you ask me, but they don’t offer it online so you have to wait for an invitation.

BrianAugust 2, 2013

Is there a card that gives you non-travel based rewards? For example, discounts on technology or food? I don’t want to travel as it just costs more money when I get to my destination!

ScottJuly 30, 2013

The 40,000 mile (not points) bonus on the Barclay Arrival World Mastercard is worth $200 in cash credit or gift cards – not $400 as claimed.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred 40,000 point bonus IS worth $400.

KenJuly 21, 2013

Chase Marriott has the chip.

KatJuly 9, 2013

Does the Barclay credit card (or any of these really) offer chip with signature or pin technology?

It’s hard to invest in a “travel” credit card without these, since most international destinations require the new chip+pin tech.

Jl100July 1, 2013

I think you should include the Chase Southwest card, which offers $900 in flights with no limitations on flights, dates or seats!

Leave a Reply

These responses are not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. It is not the credit card issuer's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

About Author

Jeff Hindenach

Jeff Hindenach started his career as a journalist for the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Examiner. He is currently the Director of Content for NextAdvisor and oversees the content and community efforts of the site.

Advertiser Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most but not all of the companies whose products and services we review. For credit cards, we review cards from all of the top 10 US issuers by purchase volume (according to Issue 1035 of The Nilson Report, Feb 2014) excluding issuers that require additional accounts to be a cardholder and private label issuers. We may also review cards from other issuers in select cases. We do not review all products in a given category. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.